The Civil Aviation Board (JAC) announced that an air transport agreement was signed today with the Kingdom of Spain with the aim of promoting the development and sustained growth of tourism and investment in the country, within the framework of the 42nd edition of Fitur 2022.
Representing the Dominican Republic, the agreement was signed by the president of the JAC, José Ernesto Marte Piantini, and for the Kingdom of Spain, the director general of Civil Aviation, Raúl Medina Caballero, who updated the legal framework that provides coverage for air links between the two countries, bringing it into line with current regulations.
The president of JAC stated that this agreement, which was 12 years overdue, is the result of the review of bilateral aviation relations between the two countries. He added that the signing of this agreement is achieved with the objective of promoting the development of air services between the two nations.
He also recalled that this document replaces and updates the air transport agreement, signed 54 years ago, exactly on March 15, 1968.
Marte Piantini said that for the Dominican aeronautical sector, Europe is very important as it represents 18% of the total market and is the second busiest region, after North America. “Of the European market, Spain has historically been the most active, with more than 600 thousand passengers transported in 2019.”
At the end of the signing of the agreement the president of the JAC also highlighted that since 2018, the civil aviation market between Spain and the Dominican Republic has been 99% to and from the city of Madrid. Highlighting that foreign investment by Spain in the period (2010 – 2019) amounts to US$1,896.21 million representing 6.7% of the total foreign investment (25.5 billion) during that period.
Of the total Spanish foreign investment, 55% is dedicated to the tourism sector in the Dominican Republic, distributed in 24 hotel chains with a total of 98 hotels and 46,142 rooms, which translates into 57.5% of the total rooms available in 2019 (80,000 rooms).
The president of the JAC was accompanied at the signing of this agreement by Frank Rainieri, president of the Association of Private Airports of the Dominican Republic, as well as the members of the Board: Román Ernesto Caamaño, director of the IDAC; engineer Nasim Antonio Yapor, representative of the private sector and Andrés Marranzini Grullón.
Points of the agreement
– Full liberalization approach.
– Fares will be freely imposed by the airlines of the parties.
– Capacity will be set according to market requirements.
– 5th Freedom of Air traffic rights for combined passenger and cargo flights, up to 25 weekly frequencies.
– The airlines of the parties may omit intermediate points or beyond on one or more flights.
– Provides that each Party may enter into marketing arrangements such as code-sharing, block-space agreements with an airline or airlines of either Party or a third country.
– 5th Freedom of the Air traffic rights for all-cargo air services, with unlimited frequency, and intermediate points may be reordered and omit one or more points on the route.
